...Over Veterans Day Weekend each year we surviving Veterans of the 1st Major Battle of the Vietnam War held in the Valley of Death that was the IA DRANG of 1965...

...greet the dawn's early light of a beautiful Sunday morning standing at the 3rd Panel of the Vietnam Wall. We go there, under the fresh shadow of the Washington Monument, to pay honor to our fallen U.S. 7th Cavalry Brothers who fell forever in that Valley of Death on behalf of the FREEDOM of Others.

...Though no exception, this year's Veterans Day Weekend in Washington, D.C. was truly unforgettable.

...Fellow IA DRANG Veteran and War Correspondent JOSEPH GALLOWAY, the only civilian who has been awarded a Bronze Star for Valor, writes about our IA DRANG Alumni Conference Weekend and of our obligation drawing us there for our fallen Brothers each year in his outstanding Kight-Ridder Article titled:

..'Remembering brothers on Veterans Day'

...A Link to this outstanding Article follows.

...Present and future U.S. 7th Cavalry Congressional Medal of Honor Recipiants stand side by side with the rest of us former U.S. 7th Cavalry SkyTroopers in unabashed gratitude at The Vietnam Wall to those who gave all they had long ago so that others may live in FREEDOM.

...This year's IA DRANG Alumni Conference Dinner Keynote Speaker was fellow IA DRANG Veteran JACK SMITH, now a retired ABC News Correspondent, who was wounded 4 times in the IA DRANG Valley 38 years ago. JACK SMITH's father was ABC News TV Anchorman HOWARD K. SMITH, the most honest of all American TV Anchormen reporting about our Fight for Freedom during the Vietnam War. This as opposed to former CBS News TV Anchorman WALTER CRONKITE ...who was lying to us on TV for the other side, our Communist Terrorist Enemy.

...JACK SMITH now finds himself in another fight for his life ...in a private war with Pancreatic Cancer.

...How profound it is to see today's Communist Vietnam, under threat from Terrorist Attacks and the encroaching Power of Communist China emerging all over East Asia, move closer to America for its own protection in a new Time of War. And to see an America reaching out to Communist Vietnam for exactly the same reasons..!!! It's a new World.

...Who would have thought so long ago in a land that was so very far away that we would live long enough to see this new world come our way back when...

"We Were Soldiers" is the definitive Vietnam movie IMHO. In a different class than the sludge propaganda films Hollywood has pumped out to try to justify the actions of the Fonda faction, including Kerry.

McNamara's folly began even before the disastrous decision not to bomb Hanoi. McNamara was initially told we'd need about 600,000 troops to win a ground war but he browbeat the Chiefs into telling the President much less would do, to the eternal shame of all concerned. After toppling Diem and installing an unstable regime, Strange knew Vietnam could not hold out without U.S combat troops, but lied to the American people with his "hold until November" strategy that allowed LBJ to decieve the people and run as a "peace" candidate. Since they'd lied to the people all along about things being just ducky in Vietnam without ground troops, LBJ and Strange had to lie about the Tonkin Gulf incident to have a pretext to do what they knew they would have to do before the election.

When they finally sent the troops in, they hamstrung them with the stupidist rules of engagment ever - Cambodia and Laos off limits, most of Hanoi off limits, no stoppage of Haiphong cargo traffic. Stupid tactics - let's take the same ground two, three, four times and give it back so we can fight a war of attrition against a fertile Asian country more than capable of filling the ranks.

The d*mn thing is that despite the lies, stupidity and treachery, the American fighting man still defeated the enemy in the field by 1968, so the American press intervened to lie to the American people once again and snatch defeat from victory.

Rant over. CT out.

64
posted on 11/12/2003 4:25:46 PM PST
by colorado tanker
("There are but two parties now, Traitors and Patriots")

I'd love to get the FAX, but I'd have to be forewarned in order to switch over for it.

Also, don't know if you've ever read anything on this man or not, but his books are excellent. His name is Lt. Clebe McClary, USMC. He was from 1st Recon Platoon 1967-1968 Vietnam. If you do a quick search on him, you will learn what his sacrifices were for our country.

He is an amazing speaker and an amazing man. He speaks highly of "We were Soldiers". He says it is right on, or words to that effect.

Power projection and deception....we can follow this back even to the times of the Ceasars and the Legions...even to Sekunder[Alexander the Great].

Just moments before posting this..watched a segment where U.S. troops overseas from Afghanistan to the Gulf spoke of not being paid on time..of injured soldiers..some even in Hospital still having certain support funding terminated.

This reality ..where the soldier gets the nix from the top as per concern runs past party lines....makes me mad as hell!

Legions marched out of Rome on a mandate that devolved in time ..to finding them set against another Roman Legion or 2 in battle. Troop stood by their comand...but their command was manipulated by the above crowd [Senate].

I see this happening again..The Hill..the Pentagon...D.C. with its CFR types tampering as the media weather vane moves.

A soldier leaves all for his nation...at least he should have some clarity to what he/she is about to forfeit all for.

During the Battle of Britian..R.A.F. Pilots saw their buddies buy the farm in a matter of weeks...they knew the reason for thier duty..and the reality set upon their nation. Since WW-2..it seems the clarity lines for why the troop is out on Geostrategic projection blurrs.. Gov seems to at least find the means to send their soldiers in harms way..but mismanages them in diverse ways...eventually to become some segment on the news..which we either ponder or wretch on..plus party line and social lean from the media drive.

So..like the ancient days of Rome..the legion marches out...knowing the Senate is going to tamper with the original mandate.

Robert McNamara was on Charlie Rose last night..plus a film producer who did a movie on Mac's career.

Kinda sureal...McNamara is confronted by Rose and the Producer to be more forthcomming with his *political/military experience...to offer insight in the current Iraq situation.

McNamara refuses...waxes eloquent and says he will not criticise His President...but readers can glean from the 3 books he has participated in recently on his life and times.

The Producers is rolling his eye's for his reasons..and Charlie Rose is looking at Mac like he does at times when trying to understand Graveltone [Henry Kissinger] in an interview.

I'm watching this thinking.."What a disconnect".! Charlie Rose..."So are we doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes" ?

Hand motions from McNamara...eye's rolling around from film producer.

The sureal part is the Film producer..who wants to see the lessons of the past learned applied to Americas best interst...that why he choose to do the film thingy on Mac..he has some passion behind his reasoning.

Tragic that an uncertain "what to do" McNamara had so many years near a Presidents ear.

Tragic too..that he chooses a forum like books to medicate his soul.

I like Charlie Rose for how he steers the interviewer to the topic..and tries to keep them their ..regardless of their talent to evade the core question at hand. Charlie looked frustrated..the interview was a dud.

McNamara...I'm not intersted in reading a book or books by a man who is scared of his own shadow.

The awful thing is, when McNamara had power, he was very certain what to do, and he ignored all advice from military officers, whom he thought inferior intellects. Strange viewed himself as the best and the brightest among the best and the brightest, and so not only ignored staff work, he despised it. His hubris cost many, many lives. He has no right to be silent and merely hold his hands up in ignorance today, he should be on his knees praying for forgiveness.

75
posted on 11/12/2003 9:07:59 PM PST
by colorado tanker
("There are but two parties now, Traitors and Patriots")

Ronnie, Those of my generation will never forget those of you who served in Viet Nam, those who returned and those who gave their lives. Nor can we forget those whose fate is still unknown. Thank you all for your service to our country in Viet Nam. God bless you all.

78
posted on 11/12/2003 9:21:29 PM PST
by ladyinred
(Talk about a revolution, look at California!!! We dumped Davis!!!)

It comes from study of 3rd Marine...and of course Nolans excellent book *Into Laos.

Hi Ronnie

I too feel "We were soldiers" is the most honest un P.C. project to reveal the character of the U.S. serviceman and his ability to perform the task at hand sent to him.

A family member now deceased was a 'Gunny' with 3rd Marine Quang Tri Prov..65 -69. entering country *Operation Starlite.

back and forth Ronnie...up to the DMZ..then down to the Khe Sanh hillcountry complex.

I read the stories of so many who were just glad to make it from Rockpile to Khe Sanh..route 9 being an attrition reality like going after a RPG team which just wolloped a Sheridan tank logger in the night.

appologies...just seems the Logistical ident was allways left for last..the reality sucking life from the Army as each day past.

W**!!... Intel in Quang Tri had to know the North was getting intel leaks from ARVN...that they would be waiting. the ROE was insane...100 helo's lost..600 shot to pieces. Guys driving down Route 9 start getting pasted just after leaving Rockpile....and the guauntlet doesn't ebb all the way into Laos.

so many brave serviceman..trying to cope..trying to save their friends who are down..cut off. meanwhile..ARVN mechanized units sit and watch others get the chop to a man on a hilltop firebase....just a hundred yards away....having a smoke while thier own get slaughtered..and while brave U.S. Helo crews try to extract some very brave ARVN units fighting for their lives. just a debacle..

Grant [my Family member] saw 3/3/3 pulled out of the Khe Sanh area,moved back to DMZ...shortly after..Charlie just phased back in....secured more trail outlets. then the seige of Khe Sanh.

3/3/3/ were to be sent to Khe Sanh..then things changed....and 26th Marine got the call.

Grant survived and returned home....maybe that would have changed if 26th Marine had not replaced them.

from studying 3rd Marines operations..and the goings on in Quang Tri...seems to me that Intel was allways changing logistics...and logistical movement meant Charlie got more opportunity to do what he was good at.

this reality I see occuring again in Iraq..

wish the U.S. could get a handle on logistical planning..less moves....more firepower and sustained engagement.

So very proud of Grant and 3rd Marine..

proud of your Troop Ronnie too.

somehow..if the knowledge of your gens experience could be applied to today.....things might go better.

Everytime I see the names, or the crosses in the cemeteries, my eyes fill with tears for our brothers lost. I watched "Saving Pvt. Ryan" the other day and in the opening sequence when the old vet is walking through the American War Dead Cemetery in Normandy, the part where it pans across the thousands of crosses brings tears to my eyes. I remember the most poigniant line from the movie "Earn This" and feel it rightfully applies to all young Americans today.

Our fallen brothers gave all of their tomorrows so that we could have today. We who have served are a part of that special brotherhood. And to those young Americans, I can point to all those crosses and say to their youthful lives "Earn This" all those soldiers died for your freedom. Don't let their loss be in vain.

Thank you my brother, for your service to our country, for standing tall when others found it inconvenient to answer the call. A hearty "Job Well Done" from a fellow vet.

...An Apology I promply made in person after our IA DRANG Dinner with the above explanation to the General. The General explained to me that it was his Army Sgt/Majors that told him that if Beret wearing was going Army wide then they wanted them to be Black so that they wouldn't have to be constantly having to tell troopers to clean their Berets during Army Inspections..!

AR, I am really glad to hear that. I too thought the army-wide issue of the black beret was a slap at the Rangers and the tank crews who had worn the black berets in Vietnam. For that very reason those knowledgable SMAJs noted, the tankers found black berets most suitable, and are the traditional choice of the British, Israelis, Russians, and others. The beret can be rolled and tucked into a coveralls pocket when the tank crewman's commo helmet isn't worn, and is more practical stuffed inside those helmets than any other headgear save possibly the Navy knit watch cap. The Army-wide adoption of the new MICH helmet suitable for use with commo headsets and microphone to replace the Kevlar *K-Pot* suggests that other troopers besides tankers will find that true of their berets as well.

I always though the REAL headgear of the Rangers was the patrol cap, worn back in the days of the detested general-issue baseball cap when a floppy bush hat or helmet wasn't the better choice, but the commonality of the tan Ranger beret with the *sandhats* of the British and Australian S.A.S. regiment has been generally noted as appropriate by those in both the British and American services, and offers swell opportunities for a little off-duty trading between brother services.

I still have my doubts about the Stryker wheeled combat vehicle that General Shinseki similarly pushed on the service during his tenure, and I hope that decision proves to be as eventually suitable as the one about headgear was. But in the meantime I retain the strongest doubts and suspicions of a former infantryman and tank crewman as to the vehicle's ability to perform as described; we shall see, and we can hope.

But at least your Shinseki story gives us some good reason to keep that hope going till the first Stryker war stories, good or bad, come back. -archy-/-

Today, at OTC HQ, Fort Hood, Tx. Hunter McGuire Woodall, Jr. was inducted into the Army Operational Testers Hall of Fame. His greatest achievement was the mathematical design for the test that verified the combat effectiveness of Army Air Cavalry units. (Nice Ia Drang tie in there.)

You paved the way, in the Nam, for me in '67-'68. I heard a lot about the "Valley of Death" and I so admired y'all. I was 101st Airbourne Ranger and we had to stand and deliver during Tete in Hue. We kicked their butts but we lost many good friends.

I have been to "The Wall" only once. It's something I can't relate in this forum. Moving doesn't even touch what it is for a Vet. I survived and I don't know that it was fair. Sometimes I wish I would have died with them, but I didn't and I went on to college and medical school. Everyday, everyday, I think of my fallen brethern and everyday I work harder for their memory. I MUST be the best for those that saved me to come back and make a difference. Dear God, let me do the very best for their memory.

My Lady protested when I got the portrait "The Wall" but when I explained to her that I must never forget, she understood and let me hang it, nice frame and all, in in my computer room. She has excepted that it is not depressing, but uplifting, especially after 911.

Rule number one, in war; brave young men die in defense of their country. Rule number two; nothing can be done to change rule number 1, and there are no other rules. My life has been enriched by those men that are gone, those brave men that fought with me. They are saving lives today, but they know that. They are looking down from Heaven and helping me EVERYDAY. Thank you, my brothers. You are not now, nor will you ever be just a name on a wall, you are in my heart, and you are in my soul, and you are in my hands, and you are the better part of a healer of mankind. Every one of you make up the man that I am now.

You paved the way, in the Nam, for me in '67-'68. I heard a lot about the "Valley of Death" and I so admired y'all. I was 101st Airbourne Ranger and we had to stand and deliver during Tete in Hue. We kicked their butts but we lost many good friends.

I have been to "The Wall" only once. It's something I can't relate in this forum. Moving doesn't even touch what it is for a Vet. I survived and I don't know that it was fair. Sometimes I wish I would have died with them, but I didn't and I went on to college and medical school. Everyday, everyday, I think of my fallen brethern and everyday I work harder for their memory. I MUST be the best for those that saved me to come back and make a difference. Dear God, let me do the very best for their memory.

My Lady protested when I got the portrait "The Wall" but when I explained to her that I must never forget, she understood and let me hang it, nice frame and all, in in my computer room. She has excepted that it is not depressing, but uplifting, especially after 911.

Rule number one, in war; brave young men die in defense of their country. Rule number two; nothing can be done to change rule number 1, and there are no other rules. My life has been enriched by those men that are gone, those brave men that fought with me. They are saving lives today, but they know that. They are looking down from Heaven and helping me EVERYDAY. Thank you, my brothers. You are not now, nor will you ever be just a name on a wall, you are in my heart, and you are in my soul, and you are in my hands, and you are the better part of a healer of mankind. Every one of you make up the man that I am now.

RICK RESCORLA would be alive today if the CLINTONS had not refused 3 Free Offers from the Sudan during the 1990's to hand over our No. 1 Terrorist Enemy OSAMA bin LADEN to us before he could order the September 11, 2001 Attack on RICK RESCORLA.

...There ..was... so much Joy this year at our Annual IA DRANG Alumni Conference, even at the Vietnam Wall. We all felt so ...close. It was almost Spiritual the feeling we were all feeling this year.

...Two months after the Attacks of Sept. 11th I was blessed to go to our 2001 IA DRANG Alumni Conference to honor RICK RESCORLA, who deserved accountability for his sudden and unnecessary Sept. 11th Death. And of all people RICK's newly widowed wife SUSAN RESCORLA was sitting there at the table next to us at our IA DRANG Alumni Conference Dinner.

...After our 7th Cavalry's Dawn Service at the Vietnam Wall that year I headed for the Pentagon to honor America's No. 1 HILLARY-Fighter BARBARA "BKO" OLSON whose Jetliner had entered the Pentagon's 1st Floor going over 500 mph just 2 months earlier.

...Freeper "BKO" is indeed looking down on us all smiling ever so broadly as we fight for the FREEDOM of Others like it was our very own ...which it is.

A truly awesome movie, possibly the best to portray the Viet Nam Experience. I have been to The Wall only three times. On my first visit I could only close to within about fifty yards. On my second I had my late wife with me and actually made it up to the grass in front of it. On my third try we touched it and looked up some names. A powerful place.

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